Musical Surgeon
General Investigation Marine Observation The blue sea had been shrouded by the midnight sky. In this specific location, a lone vessel bearing the insignia of the Marines sailed across the tamed waves. It was around 11:00 PM, a time way past what most considered "lights out" for their children. Yet, for some reason it was the perfect time for this ship to complete its travels. A big, strong, topless Marine stood at the fron of the vessel. In his hand was a Den Den Mushi, it'd seemed he had been right in the middle of a conversation. His short messy brown hair flew in the mild winds, while his golden eyes illuminated the dark area in front of him. He pulled his arm up and spoke clearly into the Den Den Mushi, his face lacking expression. "I'll be docking at the Wavecro soon. Once docked, I'll begin investigations as soon as possible." Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, the man turned to face a platoon of naval soldiers. The man was none other than, Ferrothorn Zayden, former guard of . It had been the first time in two years since Zayden left the prison and even since he stationed himself there, it he'd only heard bad news. The breaking point was learning about his little brother, Braxton's, betrayal against the World Government. He couldn't sit idle any longer, if there was anyone in their family that would kill Braxton without hesitation, it was this man here. "Harlee," he called out, his voice deep like a thumping heartbeat. "We'll be docking soon, get ready." His seven-foot figure towered over the railing of the boat. Standing somewhere on the vessel was Lowell Harlee, her visage witnessed the seemingly endless blue ocean but more than that, she seemed to be staring off into the distance. Enjoying what appeared to be reminiscing of old times, Harlee heard the thunderclap of a voice that belonged to Zayden, which instinctively made her grasp the railing as tight as she could. "A-alrighty Commodore Zayden." even she could be taken by surprise once in a while. She grabbed her hat, which lay in the floor next to her and put it on, covering her wolf-like ears before walking to where Zayden stood. "I'm ready now!" she exclaimed, gazing at the island in proximity. The ship reached the dock and Zayden turned to face his platoon of soldiers. Gazing at each and every one of them individually, he began to take a head count. He cleared his throat and folded his arms, then leaned back against the railing. "Listen up," he began, the bass in his voice still there. "No one apart of this platoon, including myself will step a foot off of this Kingdom until we know SOMETHING." Stepping from the ship onto the land, Zayden did a quick survey of his immediate surroundings. Lifting his hand up, electricity began to spark from his palm, then with a push, it all began to travel along the wind currents and spread all throughout the island. The Marine soldiers exited the ship next in a spike-like formation. Guns and swords across their shoulders, they all stopped and held their hands in a saluting formation. Between them, a slim short-haired man with glasses walked through and approached Zayden. "Captain Crabbe Harold at your services." He stated in a British accent, bowing to Zayden's back. "Our men will move out and begin to search each crevasse of this Kingdom." Turning his back, Harold held his arm out. "Harold, out!" "Harlee," Zayden began, "What will you do?" Harlee had stepped out of the ship and onto the land right after Zayden. She looked around, analyzing her surroundings. So far, Wavecro appeared to be no different from any other place she'd visited. Granted, they were on a dock and she had seen no more than that. "I'll head into the nearest town and see what I can find," she said as she stretched her arms over her head. "I think if we spread out, there'll be a bigger chance of finding what we're looking for. However, we're still unaware of who or what could possibly here, so It'd be smart to stay in touch." the girl explained, she preferred to work alone after all, but knew that if danger were to appear, she'd need to warn her superior. Extending his arm out, he grabbed Harlee by the shirt and lifted her into the air. "Nah, you'll stay with me." Zayden ordered, keeping the girl in his grasp as he began to walk forward. "I'll have to see if you've gotten stronger myself. Because if you didn't..." Zayden turned Harlee around so that her face met his own. "I'll have to kill you myself, Little Harlee." his voice once against thunderous like on the ship. Walking along the pathway further, Zayden finally found what seemed to be the remains of a former standing town. Without any further thought, he entered its premise and began to look around for anything that was something. It wouldn't be long before a group of survivors rushed out from their corners and surrounded Zayden's large mast. Some had been injured, while others seemed to have just been suffering from starvation. "Marines. Marines! Marines!!! We are saved!!!" They'd begin to shout and as they did, even more survivors came rushing out to surround Zayden and Harlee. "Please, people of Wavecro remain calm." Zayden finally broke his silence. "We have a ship, with plenty of supplies to ensure you all's survival, but I'm going to need to ask some information from you all." Zayden released Harlee to his side. Eye each of the individuals, Zayden spoke once again. "What happened here?" He asked, watching as these peoples faces slowly began to grow smiles. "Or more importantly, how did Wavecro get destroyed?" A man pushed his way through the crowd of people up until he'd finally reached Zayden. His six feet figure was towered by Zayden he was just a foot tall, but it made a severe difference. "I don't remember everything, Marine sir... but I remember a few things that matter." The man claimed, sitting down to the ground while releasing a sigh. Zayden followed suit and sat to the ground as well, crossing his legs and folding his arms as he did. "Enlighten me, civilian." The man nodded and began. "My name is Avery, I've been living in the Wavecro Kingdom for over twenty years. Not once as there been conflict in this Kingdom until about a month ago. A group of suited men would suddenly begin to visit the Kingdom quite frequently, but as a Kingdom of great cooks, we all thought it was just another customer. Until one day, the castle lit into flames. A group of men was seen escaping from the castle and for about a week, we hadn't seen those men again." Avery swallowed his saliva and paused. Sweat began to fall down his forehead and he spoke with nervousness. "A couple days later, two men came. One wore a mask and fur-trimmed jacket, while the other also had on a jacket but his hood rested on his head. Before we know it, the two had begun to attack the Kingdom in its entirety. They both moved fast, like lightning, and destroyed town after town right before killing the King and Queen. Luckily the Princess was away, but if I'm correct the Marines managed to grab her before she had come home. They were like thugs the way they tore up the towns and killed many of the towns folks." Of course, she had seen Zayden's threat as playful teasing. After all, her Maurier Harlan brother had said the same thing to her several times. It was a common human joke, or so she thought. "Hehe~, sure thing, sir." she said, scratching the back of her head as the man lowered her down. Once her feet were back on the ground, before she knew it, the duo was surrounded by civilians, whose screams of help she couldn't ignore. It happened so quickly that Harlee couldn't help but freeze up. Luckily for her, Zayden had remained calm and addressed the situation like a proper Marine. It brought a smile to Harlee's face, which quickly disappeared as the man known as Avery came forward and began to speak. She sat on the ground, much like the other two and listened intently. Harlee's eyes and mouth widened as the man explained what had happened. Two individuals had rampaged through an entire kingdom and caused nothing but chaos. It was likely the work of pirate scum. Harlee's entire body tightened as she heard the man speak. "Rest assured..." she said, as she stood up, "We'll find 'em, we'll find 'em and bring them to justice" she proclaimed, her cupid tooth glistening under the night sky. Perhaps, she had made a promise too quickly, but the way Harlee felt about pirates made her stubborn. Although lately, she had been able to control that. Zayden glared at Harlee, even though they sat a feet inches apart from each other, his torso nearly towered her entire body. Looking down on her, he had this dark look in his eye. "Harlee shut the hell up." He demanded, "You shouldn't be making promises your little ass can't keep." Reaching over, he grabbed Harlee's head and placed his elbow on top of it as he began to think. He looked back to Avery and asked, "You said they had been coming here prior to the Kingdom's fall, correct? Could you take me to where they would go to meet?" Back into his thinking position, Zayden thought to himself. "I managed to pin point the location of a group of others." Avery stood to his feet, "Yes sir!" Following the man's suit, Zayden removed his elbow from Harlee's head and stood to his feet as well. With the palm of his hand, he gripped Harlee's entire head and brought her to her feet. Turning his attention to the rest of the civilians he pointed in the direction behind him. "Alright, people of Wavecro!" His voice pounded like a bass drummer's solo in performance. "About 200 meters from here you will find a Marine ship with my men guarding it. Let them know Commodore Zayden sent you here. They will clothe and feed you all. Sit tight until we return." Turning to follow Avery, they trio would disappear. Harlee had what could only be considered a poker face as Zayden grabbed her as if she was no more than a doll. "I'll never get used to this..." she muttered quietly to herself. After he was done, she turned her attention to Avery who would now lead them, Harlee walked dizzily behind the duo as they headed to the meeting point. Pirate Salvation In what could be considered "remains" of a building, a young boy lied in the rubble, seemingly resting comfortably. At least considering he was awake and moving his arms, but no such motions to get him out of his position. There were multiple pieces of paper lying around him, each had words written on them both front and back. His appearance was masked by the darkness of the building, courtesy of the night sky. The Den Den Mushi on his side began to ring, Purupurupuru. Turning his head ever so slightly, his golden eyes left an illuminating trail behind. He answered, "What..." He simply stated a rather dry response. "Dexter-kun!" The soft voice called out through the other end of the Den Den Mushi. "Nobody gonna' think any different of you! You're a sensation!" It was a rather feminine voice and possessed a bit of concern. This young man was Dragon D. Dexter, a rather renown Pirate in the New World. But the way he currently looked, was a rather different take for him. He looked beaten, depressed, overall he looked like a sloppy mess. His signature mohawk hairstyle was barely a thing. His hair just rested over his face in a messy manner. Gripping the Den Den Mushi with a tight grip he spoke into it, "Sensation my ass, Zoe." He spat to his side then continued, "I failed my damn self. Y'all don't get it do you? I waited half of my life for that moment and I fucked it all up, 'cause I ain't pay attention. I been so damn depressed, I wrote twelve heartbreak songs, my pira. If I snap back to my senses, I can come home and drop a fuckin' album. That's how much I've been writin'." "We don't give a shit about that, Dexter!" A now male voiced shouted back at him, this was Dexter's DJ and drummer, Osiris. "What're you gonna' tell Baron, Dexter, huh?!" "Fuck 'em." He responded, slouching ever so more into the rubble. "YOU UNGRATEFUL IDIOT!" Osiris shouted, spit flying from the Den Den Mushi's mouth as he did. "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! I'LL COME STICK MY FOOT RIGHT UP YOU A-" "I don't know, some wasted place. Wavecraw, Waveca, some shit like that." Dexter responded. There was a sudden silence from the Den Den Mushi, "Dexter, you're on Wavecro. You've gotta' get away from there... RIGHT NOW." "Osiris, shut up." Dexter bit his lip and turned his head. "Don't forget, I'm the fuckin' CEO. At the very least this fuckin' fruit'll let me know if somethin' in the zone is getting near. I'll talk to y'all when I'm on my way back home. Oh and Osiris, if I come and find anybody been in my fuckin' kitchen, I'll kill both you and Lucina, got that?" Dexter paused, he had a sudden flash of Lucina's image in his head. "Yeah, make sure you watch her. She might be my manager, but she eats like a fuckin' pig. Dexter, out." He stated, hanging up the Den Den Mushi. Leaning back, Dexter threw the Den Den Mushi against the nearby wall. "Shit man!" He shouted, "One fuckin' job and I let me greed get in the way of deciphering a fake from a real." ---- Meanwhile, at Dexter's mansion... "Did that give you enough time to locate him, Lucina?" Osiris asked, looking over the shoulder of a woman sitting at an open desk. The woman had long straight blue hair with white dyed ends, tied up into a ponytail. She wore a white shirt and a pair of tightly fitted blue jeans. "Got exactly where he is. Seems he didn't lie about being on Wavecro... That's bad, Osiris. We'd better get there... and Quick." Zoe's eyes shifted between Lucina and Osiris. He held her hands together and bowed her head. "Please Dexter," she thought to herself in a praying manner, "Just PLEASE be oka-" She'd suddenly feel a weight on her head. As she looked up, both the hands of Lucina and Osiris rested on top. Both had fearless smiles, the complete opposite of her very own facial expression. As they did, she could feel a sudden warmth from both of their hands. "It's gonna' be fine, Zoe. He's my best friend too. After he sees us, he'll come back to his senses." Osiris smiled further, "Don't forget that." Lucina went on to further her smile as well, "Yeah besides, he doesn't have a Co-CEO, which means if he dies without one, Oceanic Records will go to the World Government. And we don't want that for our label, do we?" ---- Waves went and came, tapping against the wood of a small boat, it laid before the dark beach. The person who had used it was already far into the island, sneakers smashing the fragile peebles he walked upon, "Tis' better be true..." Blumenthal Gerhard sighed within his beaked mask, holding a large bag with his left hand and dragging it through the entrance of a... destroyed town. Many buildings were spread across its landscape, some seemingly had lamps or whatever light source. Survivors. Good, his cheeks inflated, that meant the trail was fresh and that his informat hadn't been lying to him any bit. He was told several people were in need of help at Wavecro. Normally, Gerhard would bother to use his Haki and find people more quickly, it was something he had to improve, after all. Yet, he only uttered out a soft, "Um, 'ello?" Not that Gerhard was sure people would even respond to a sudden visitor. There were coughs following Gerhard's greeting. He thought they wouldn't respond, but it had been about a month since the falling of this Kingdom, so any voice other than their own gave them hope. From an ally, two individuals walked out. One was an elder woman and the other was a young male child. As the woman inched closer and closer to Gerhard, her appearance came whole despite the dark sky. She'd been severely wounded as indicated by the many scars across her body as well as her dangling arm. You didn't have to be a doctor to tell that it was broken. Her spirit looked broken and the sad expression she gave off as she dragged herself closer to the Notch Pirate, made it all the more evident. Lifting her functional arm she reached out at Gerhard, "Hello! Please si-," she dropped to the ground, she'd been weak and truly couldn't keep up the tough ruse any longer. "P-please sir.. H-help my g-grandson. H-his eeeyyyeeee..." She muttered, gripping her grandson's cloak and pulling it from his body. As his face was revealed, the left side of it had been nearly destroyed in the sense that it was wounded badly. In fact, even though his eyelid wasn't open, one could tell that he had been missing the eye from the socket. Dropping to his knees, the boy began to shake him grandmother's body. "Grandma Baboa! Grandmuuuuuum!!!!" He wailed at his unconscious grandmother who'd passed out simply due to fatigue. Tears crawling down his face, the boy turned to Gerhard. "Please Mister! Please!! Help my grandma!" No one had blinked and Gerhard was already by the two's side, his hand reached out for the ground, activating a dungeon as wide as an entire street. "I may be capable of fixin' 'er," Muffled words went into the boy's ears, Gerhard's hands cupped Baboa's broken arm, "But, I dunno' about ya'." The process was nothing too new, each hand issued a different command so that he could reform properly Baboa's arm bone. Regardless if she screamed or not, Gerhard maintained himself in the process. Furthermore, his very Haki aided him in seeing the state of the old woman, after all, misuse of his power could bring forth more unnecessary suffering upon Baboa. Crack and crack, Baboa's shattered bone moved within her flesh, evident by how much her skin budged from an outside view though, that was something that Gerhard tried to shield from the boy's eyes by standing in-between. Once he was done, Gerhard rose and looked at the boy's wound, "Did'ja wash't even once?" He asked, hands resting before the boy's head much like he asked permission to examine him. "Are ya' two alone in 'ere?" Glancing around, he did yet another call, "HELLO?" "No." The small boy answered Gerhard's question after giving him a nod to examine him. "I'll be fine, I'll be fine!" The boy shouted, despite his physical conditions he showed no fear to waver. "We aren't alone. There's a boy! A boy," He repeated. "He's in that building!" Turning around, Corbin pointed at a building at had been halfway collapsed. With her remaining strength, Baboa turned slightly to Corbin and Gerhard. "Thank you for your help, youngster. In that building, is a boy who's even younger than you." Corbin shouted out once more, "Yeah! He saved me and my grandmum from being flattened by that building!" Corbin then paused and held his silence for a moment. "It was weird... one moment, the building was there." He pointed to an empty area, "Then suddenly it moved to where it is right now. I don't know how he managed to get trapped inside." The boy shook a bit, "Sir, please! Help him!" Inside the building the young boy had been referring to, a dark-skinned skinned teen rested in a pile of rubble with paper surrounding him. "I can't even move my body. I'm sleepy for no reason." The boy had been talking to himself, but he was well aware of that. "I paid 5,000,000,000 just to buy the wrong fruit." He paused and closed his eyelids for a moment, poking out his chest he shouted. "DUMMY DUMMY YEAH THAT'S MEEEEEE!" He sung. "I been in here for about two days, when this shit gonna' wear off? I'm about to sleep right into heaven, earth was cool." Leaning back in the rubble, the boy's eyes locked up on the remains of the ceiling. "O.P.E stands for 'Obviously People Evil'. When's this shit gonna' wear off?" Staring at Corbin for a few seconds as he spoke, Gerhard beamed, "Okayyy." He stepped away, only to briefly stop due to the duo talking once more, "Saved huh?" Step, he marched on and gave a back-handed wave to Baboa and Corbin, though, he was not even sure if they would part ways then. After all, patients needed more than healing, but company as well. Past numerous buildings, Gerhard was quickly standing before the aforementioned boy's hideout. Before Gerhard had even thought too much, he dug his right palm into the building's basement, whose surface cracked, "Think of't as loot, as openin' a treasure." He mused inside his mind, eyebrows wiggling even when a singing chant came from inside there. Along his hand, the basement slowly rose and was torn apart in a not so loud rumble, dust came over the street, yet, the building didn't drop. Held over Gerhard's head, the building creaked a bit more, and he could finally see who laid inside it. Though, not really, since the cloud of dust invaded there, too. "I's asked to help ya', I'mma' doctor," Trying some sort of greeting, Gerhard waited for any kind of response. "Wooooow, I can't even open my eyes. I'm in here with two goo-" The very foundation and rubble of the building began to rise. Dust and debris filled the air around him, causing him to lift his hand over his eyes. "Is it mornin' yet?" The teen called out, waving his hand trying to push the debris away from his view. Corbin rushed over to Gerhard's side and held on to his leg, trying to look into the debris and make sure the boy was okay. Using the tips of his toes, he attempted to look into the debris. "Hey, Mister!" Corbin shouted at the top of his lungs, "Are you alright!?!?" A shadowy figure could be seen walking through the cloud of dust. Each step he took was slow, but because you could see his shadow, it seemed as though he had been stuffing something into his pockets. The silhouette of a sword sat on his back diagonally as his appearance came full to the opposing group. He was dressed in all black sweat suit-like attire with running shoes to cap it all off. His hair was all over his head, rare to not see the teen without his usual mohawk look. "Hey kid," the voice said emerging from the debris entirely. "you ain't have to do that. Even though I'm sad as can be, I wrote that's gone be wave like that sea. Popstar that be me, the rappin' Dext-" Stopping mid-sentence his eyes locked onto the masked man that managed to "free" him off the rubble building. "I remember you... ya' you crashed my show at the Brothel at Cartecielo. Then you hauled ass after the Marines showed up... fuck pira'." Unfazed by Corbin's sudden run, Gerhard tilted his head upon finally seeing just whom was there. "Oh, it's just ya'," He mused, before quickly bending his knees so that he could be face to face with Corbin, "Kid, y'need a rest." Gesturing for Baboa in the distance, Gerhard patted the kid's head, "Will ya', please? I can look after 'im," A thumb pointed at Dexter. Swiftly spinning around, Gerhard faced Dexter once again, "Hell yeah, I did." Memories of eruptions and drunk dinosaurs went through his thoughts, something to which he shook his head. "The hell ya' doing 'ere tho?" Upon getting a closer look, Gerhard's eyebrows went up, "Y'need... some treatment, dude." He tried remarking, steps having taken him to Dexter's side almost instantly. Even though Gerhard had let go of the building, it was still there, standing. Should one look behind it, they would notice the many earth pillars that erupted from its surface and etched themselves at the ground. "I don't need no help, I'm straight," Dexter stated, turning his neck side to side. "That ain't even that last time I remember you, to be honest." Dexter thought back to his battle with the Shichibukai, Bimore O. Jack. Specifically when the teen had been trailing the man and once he had been found out, he put on an accent, in attempts to mimicking Gerhard. "Yeah, it was against that damned swordsman." Swinging his arm in a clock-like manner, his bones cracked. "I got here, 'cause..." Dexter had a vision of the past events that landed him there. Events that he wished he could turn time back and undo... "Yeah, after I ate that fruit, the Marines fuckin' kicked the door down. Guns went blazin' and dicks went flyin'. I got swallowed by a shadow and ended up on this dump." Dexter looked at Corbin and launched a piece of fabric towards the boy's direction. "Hey kid, I meant to give this to you.. but hell, I didn't want to come out of my hole. I was, no wait, I AM disappointed in myself." It seemed Dexter still suffered from depression of allowing himself to be tricked into eating the wrong devil fruit. Corbin grabbed it and began to look at it. It didn't take rocket science to learn that it was a handmade eyepatch. It was so that Corbin could cover his eye with it. "Thanks so much! Wait... you're Dexter! I know you! Everyone in the kingdom knows you! The princess used to let us hear your music all the time!" "That's great kid." Dexter responded, turning his attention back to Gerhard. He changed his view to the sky, "Next thing I know, this kid and his granny damnear got smashed by that building." Dexter suddenly got a mental image of a devil fruit in his head. Red and white spherical devil fruit with a small leaf hanging out of it. "Shit, I don't know how but I think with that power, I moved the building here and buried myself." "I ain't no genius and I ain't no fool, I remember ya' name from that Marine on that stool. Gerhard?" Gerhard's head tilted to the right then, "Swordsman? Fruit?" Though they weren't even close to one another, the sight of a distressed Dexter only prompted Gerhard's expressions to switch constantly. Observing his surroundings while Dexter and Corbin talked, Gerhard crossed his arms, attention only going back to them once Dexter started to talk about the near incident, "So, back when we met, ya' didn't have a power..." "Marine? Well, like," One of Gerhard's hands rose to scratch the back of his head, his eyes going half-lidded, "My blade'as stolen, so I had ta' hurry." Rolling his eyes, he quickly remembered the culprit of such an action. Thinking back to the last time they met, "Nah, nope. If this power is what I think it is, it would've done me damn good justice when you crashed through the ceiling." Lifting his hand, he flipped it to its backside to survey it a bit more. "Now that I think about it..." Dexter had a sudden flashback to when the building collapsed. He stood stiff, feet planted with both of his hands down to his side. Two silverish miniature domes formed under his hands, then suddenly he'd swapped places with Corbin and his grandmother. Dexter's eyes narrowed, "Wait, you mean to tell me..." he paused for a moment to glare. "Someone stole your blade?" Grabbing the hilt of the sword resting on his back, Dexter grew a tad bit angry. "I wish a pira would. Oh, shit, oh wow... That's degradin', Ger-." Dexter burst out into laughter, "OHH I needed that Gerhard, not gone hold you! So I'm guessin' you can't directly track it?" Sighing he held out the palms of his hands. "So long as Tenrairyu ain't too far away, the electrons'll show me where he is." In the middle of Dexter's speaking, his jacket began to ruffle as though something had been within it crawling about. From his hoodie, a small lizard-like being emerged and climbed onto his shoulder. "Oh yeah, I found this guy while I was in there." He spoke in reference to the collapsed building. "Dunno', was thinking of calling him Spike." "Oho?" This surely was a day full of surprises, Ab had been right, Dexter had not been all over a woman and even got a fruit power. Before Gerhard could further question it, both Dexter's glare and words beat him, "...That's wha' I said, yeah-" Shoulders low, Gerhard could only observe once his pirate companion began to laugh. "Um, like, my kenbunshoku's not the best yet... I been trynna' improve." He shrugged. With a step forward, Gerhard eyed the sword that Dexter showcased, "Oooh, such a rare item." Rapid and several nods were given, it seemed that Dexter was beginning to shape himself up and become much of a professional player. Though, maybe he just wanted to remain a popstar. "Oooh," Gerhard blinked and cooed, seeing the lizard, "Ya' even got yerself a familiar," He backed away slightly. "It seems y'been doin' several discoveries 'ere." No pause went by, "Which brings me ta' another question," Gerhard crossed his arms again, "What's th'deal with tis' island? Re'there any other survivors for me ta' help?" His gaze briefly passed by Corbin and Baboa. Baboa managed to lift herself to an upright position, gripping her arm she could still feel a bit of pain from it being broken. But she was by no means the average elderly. "Avery and the rest of those went to the coastal area, hoping to find help. They are all fine though." With answering Gerhard's question, she called Corbin over to her. The young boy rushed over to her with the eyepatch strapped around his missing eye. Looking at the two pirates, Corbin had the kind of look in his eye. Despite him being left with one, his vision went unblurred, both of them were glorious too him in their own way. His lone left eye glistened like a jewel as he watched Gerhard and Dexter speak to one another. Corbin too had a sudden flashback to when Dexter saved him and his grandmother, as well as Gerhard's miraculous feat of healing Baboa's arm. Then going forward to reconstruct the building through unknown means. "Those two are so cool..." He muttered under his breath, watching them go back and forth. "I wanna' be like them!" "Discovery my ass, you damn dick-head." Dexter reached for the familiar and placed his finger on it's head, in a petting manner. "All I discovered was my mistakes." The bearded dragon, Spike, smiled at Dexter's gentle pats. "Well, I guess I can count this guy as one too..." Cracking his neck, Dexter continued on about haki. "Speakin' off, mine ain't that good either." Referring his own kenbunshoku haki, "It just gets the job done for me." Wrong Discoveries Not too far from where Dexter, Gerhard, Baboa, and Corbin where Zayden's search party had been prowling. With each civilian they passed, Zayden effectively guided them back to him Marine vessel for shelter and safety. Avery finally broke his silence, "Granny Baboa and Corbin are somewhere up ahead. When he all fled for the dock, she decided to remain here and hold onto her old things. We told her once we found help, we'd come back and get the two even if we have to drag them away. She's stubborn Sir. Zayden." "Baboa?" Zayden asked, but to be fair, the only person that could hear his question was himself. Even with a voice as deep as his. "No..." He thought to himself, shaking his head and continuing on. Zayden's eyes widen as his senses mentally warned him. The more the trio walked, the better Zayden could sense just what managed to "wake" him up. Coming over the hill, Zayden's eyes met four individuals. Two were standing across from each other, while the other two rested against a wall. "Granny Baboa, Corbin! I've brought help!" The Wavecro civilian shouted, rushing to the elderly woman's side. Squatting to one of his knees, he reached for her arm since she'd been holding it. "Are the two of you okay? What happened to your eye, Corbin!?" Grunting Baboa nodded, "Yes, I'm fine." Corbin, on the other hand, had his attention span elsewhere. His eye was still focused on Gerhard and Dexter, the boy sat in awe and truly hadn't noticed Avery's arrival. For a while, Dexter hadn't noticed the appearance of the trio as he continued talking to Gerhard. "I dunno', maybe you should visit Wano and stop by tha' Ryustume Dojo and ask for Yoshitsune." Dexter advertised as though it were a business, "Tell 'em Dexter sent you. Maybe one of those idiots'll tell you how to not lose your blade. Even then, I don't think I could ever lose this thing. It is cursed after all, it's lig-" Hand claps could be heard in the distance, causing Dexter to stop saying what he had been saying. Zayden and Harlee stepped over the hill, his figure full to both Gerhard and Dexter has he continued to clap. Each louder and louder, somehow managing to make the ground itself shake. "I ain't think the two responsible for this would be the rookie Man-Slayer Dragon D. Dexter and Doctor of Games Blumenthal Gerhard the Traitor." Zayden's eyes swapped between Dexter and Gerhard continuously. "So," Zayden asked, refolding his arms. "Was this some sort of alliance between the Notch and Titan Pirates? Old man Eldric reported the appearance of you two together on Cartecielo. Seems you two being in the same spot at the same time wasn't a coincidence after all." Approaching the duo, but maintaining a distance between himself and them, Zayden first turned his attention to Gerhard. "Gerhard, huh? That "miraculous" doctor everyone keeps speaking off. That 230,000,000 bounty is an understatement if what the rumors I've heard about you are true." Choosing to ignore the newcomer, Dexter took a step back and pulled his hood over his head. Speaking to Gerhard, but keeping his eyes on Zayden and Harlee, Dexter uttered. "Gerhard, if I ain't trippin', this guy is Thor. One of the members of Raptor's crew was a prisoner in Impel Down for nineteen years, he said something about hi-.. No wait, HOW'D I EVEN GET DRAGGED INTO THIS SHIT!?" Dexter bluttered. "Wano?" Gerhard stretched one arm and palm out, "Samurai land aye? Tho', isn't it ruled by tha' Yonko? Mommy R. Arms?" Now, that was something that he wasn't a fan of doing, jumping straight into the Final Boss. Though, would someone like her even consider him an enemy? "Um, well, I'm not truly mucha' swordsman, but-" Head whipping, Gerhard finally saw the recently arrived survivors, and they weren't alone, "Wha' tha' fuck?" Now that was a new character, Gerhard furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of Zayden. A marine, a marine of remarkable aura, he had to prepare. "Responsible?" Gerhard walked a bit, opening his arms and frowning, good, he stood where it could possibly happen, yet he still took slow steps. "Wha' d'ya mean, Sir Marine Sir?" It was when a calm breeze passed by that Gerhard tripped and saved himself by planting his palms on the ground. The breeze seemed to come and go, almost too fast, "WOAH!" He shouted, "Nearly hit mah' beak." "Anyway, ya' focusin' on me for my bounty or fa' my powers?" Gerhard pointed at Dexter with his thumb, "Well, 'cause, if it's th' bounty, that hot-shot there has 250,000,000!" Sliding his foot over, Dexter scooted closer to the Notch. Lifting his ninja mask over his mouth, he kept his eyes on Zayden and Harlee the entire time. "Aye yo, Gerhard..." Dexter began, but he held his sentence as Zayden began to speak once more. "That bounty of 250,000,000 was achieved in just four months of piracy, Dragon D. Dexter. Should I be surprised though? At the age of eleven, you managed to acquire a bounty of 60,000,000 for your deeds as the Man-Slayer. Surely that alone is boastful enough, correct? For destroying the lost ancient city in Alabasta, your bounty jumped to 160,000,000. Then, your current bounty is where it is now, for consuming something fear even among devil fruits themselves, the ." Dexter bit his lip under his mask at Zayden's most recent sentence. He twitched for a moment and hesitated, the subject of the Ope Ope no Mi was too sensitive for him right now, but he saw something much brighter. "If I play this carefully, I can use my cards at the right time." Zayden smiled for the first time since stepping on this island, "Four months is all it took for you to acquire that bounty, Impel Down and Eldric can't stop talking about you and your people. You know what some of the Marines, mostly those from G-5, are starting to call you?" "Enlighten me," Dexter responded in a smart manner, trying to tempt Zayden and buy more time for whatever it was he had been planning. With another smile, Zayden continued on, "The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse are known for being able to acquire a bounty of over 300,000,000 in just a few short years, no, in under TWO years. You, Dexter... Eldric and the others have been referring to you as one of the Six Paths of Disaster, that will throw this world into ruin." The sound of unsheathing steel could be heard from behind Dexter. He'd slowly pulling up on the hilt of his sword, showing off just a portion of the blade's fine craft. "Okay, now, that one is a cool ass fuckin' name." Baboa, Corbin, and Avery approached his side. "That's them!" Avery shouted, his eyes shaking at the sight of Gerhard and Dexter. The description he gave Zayden earlier patched perfectly, one a tall man with a fur-trimmed jacket and another who had his face masked by the hood he strapped over his head. "Wait, Avery, are you.. are you sure?" Baboa asked, rubbing her shoulder. "That young gentleman with the mask helped fix my arm. I dunno' how he did it, but he did." With a glance, Zayden shifted his view to Baboa. "Oh, it really it is Commodore Baboa." Frowning at the sight of Zayden, she punched him softly in the arm. "Ex-Commodore Baboa. That life is in my past, please do not bring it about in front of my grandson, Zayden-boy. Besides, back to what I said, I don't think either of these youngsters are responsible for what happened here." "What do you mean, Baboa? Ex-Marine or not, you are still the woman who trained me." Turning back to face Gerhard and Dexter, he looked a bit closer. "Even if these two are not responsible, which I believe they are, as a believer of Absolute Justice I will prosecute any man who violates the law. Old man Eldric has deemed both of the men enemies to the World Government on their own, but together they are much more of a threat. They are the Hoodlums." All while Zayden rambled on, Dexter managed to sneak a few words to Gerhard. "Gerhard," he picked back up from earlier, "aside from that cheesy name and calling us Hoodlums, we need to figure something out and quick. I won't lie, right now, I ain't in the right state of mind to take these two down alone. If what that Titan Pirate said is true, then my swordplay won't be enough to take 'em down." Looking to his left and right, he let out a sigh because what he was about to say would hurt both his pride and his dignity. "Imma' need yo' help. I heard you a game master or some shit, like its yo power or somethin', tha' fuck does that mean? Can you get me close to Zayden? I can drop his big ass in one blow if you can and we'll dip on his lackey." Amazed at the sight of the two pirates, Harlee paid attention to Zayden's words and description of the two. Yes, she had heard of the dangerous Notch Pirate and the young affiliate of the Titan Pirates but it never hurt to be reminded. She then turned attention to her side and at the conversation of the ex-marine and Zayden. "So she's the woman who taught Zayden...scary..." she thought to herself, before focusing on the pirates in front of her. "Finally..." she grinned, her sharp canine teeth showing. "What's the plan, Zayden?" she asked, electro crackling around her. This was her chance to prove her worth and she would not let it pass. Eyes half-open, Gerhard's head whipped each time someone took over the conversation, until the man known as Avery hit him with his very words. "Woah woah, th'fuck ya' on?" Instead of taking a step, he merely gestured a hand towards the man, eyes not falling to notice the trembling exhibited by Avery's body. When the dialogue was back to being between the others, Gerhard sighed, only then, noticing that Dexter called for him. "Hm?" Gerhard gave him a side-way glance, stepping slightly closer and lightly stretching his fingers, they seemed as if they hovered over something. "Okeh," With a single tap upon the air before themselves, a quick ripple took place behind Dexter. Through the power of Tidy Chaos, Gerhard had provoked a small amount of movement within the air itself, for even it was touchable when within a Dungeon. Although its ressonance had been minimal, it was merely a trigger. A trigger so that the air catapulted from around Dexter, cushioning his body and sending him much like he was a whisper towards Zayden and Harlee. Off guard by Gerhard’s lackluster answer, Dexter’s body lifted from the ground and shot towards the Marine duo. Without so much as a blink or an extra movement, Dexter both drew his sword and wrapped it in a layer of lightning. That new breathe, Dexter reached Zayden’s space already swinging his blade across the Marine’s chest. "Thundering Hot Potato!" Dexter shouted, completing his slash across Zayden's torso with tremendous force and great precision, a technique he devised on the fly along with Gerhard's help. Kicking the air, Dexter attempted a backward somersault in order to get away from Zayden, so that Harlee would not be able to get a free attack on him. "It was a last minute technique, but an off guard slash enhanced by lightning shouldn't be easy to deal with. Especially with Gerhard's launch." To his dismay, however, he'd find himself pulled back towards the direction he'd originally been traveling, with Zayden's hand wrapped around his blade. "Let go of my sword, you fuckin' ape!" Dexter shouted tugging on his blade, but as he mentioned Zayden had "ape"-like hands. "Well damn," Zayden finally spoke, blood crawling down the right side of his chest as he pulling Dexter's blade away to show how much damage the boy had managed to do. "The two of you just initiated your self destruct sequence. Avery, take Granny Baboa and the kid to the ship, I'll be there once I finish with these two." Slinging Dexter's blade as well as Dexter, he sent the two flying back near Gerhard's location. Sliding across the ground with his two feet, Dexter planted his free palm into the ground to help him maintain balance during his slide. His blade no longer dancing with electricity he managed to keep his eye on Zayden but spoke to Gerhard. Aye, we gotta watch that pira. I cut his ass, yeah... but at that last moment, it was as if his body had been coated by an armor. And it wasn't no damn busoshoku haki either. It was like, lightn-." "Lightning, yeah." Zayden completed Dexter's sentence for him as he gave Avery a head gesture to go ahead and take off with the two. "With the powers of my devil fruit, I've become he who reigns over storms; Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Susanoo. As my brother Solomon would say, I'd love to dance, but because neither of you are pushovers and I'm not near Solomon's level, I can not have this dance alone." Reaching to his side, he grabbed Harlee's cranium and placed her on the ground in front of him. You could compare his recent action to a man playing chess, who'd been moving his knight to its next position. "Lowknee," he called, giving the girl an embarrassing nickname, "Take the sword kid. Your power should be enough to hold him off until I get done with this one. Even if he's got that devil fruit." "As much as I don't like this, pira, I think we should go along with his plan and split 'em. Plus, I'm 5'9", he's 7'9", you're 7 some shit. You do the math... Imma' meet you back here in twenty minutes." Swinging his blade at the air, Dexter brought it vertically in front of his face. "Gerhard, appearantly we a threat to the World Government, don't die." Dashing to his left, Dexter took off towards the open feild away from Zayden and Gerhard." Having gotten used to Zayden's...odd way of treating those underneath him, to say the least, she nodded as the Commodore gave her instructions. "Alright, sir!" she exclaimed, her brows furrowing. "I won't let you down!" she thought to herself, as she too, headed to the open field where their fight would begin. Surgeon's Storm "Don't die," The words lingered by Gerhard's head, "I damn wish I could respawn." He rolled his eyes briefly, unlike the younger duo, he and Zayden stood just where they were. Gerhard gave a quick glance to see if the inhabitants were already gone, though, his attention was still on the marine he was about to face. Whatever the latter could even know about him at all, after all, marines did have access to certain bits of information, "He mentioned 'imself a god 'f storms." Back when Gerhard almost kissed the soil and stopped himself with both hands, he had pretty much expanded onto the limits of the Dungeon that was created to heal Baboa. It was what was there to do, because, if he was to rather call it off, he would have to touch the ground twice with the same hand. Therefore, the use of both hands allowed Gerhard to merely edit the current one, saving time and suspicions. An almost transparent steam flowed from both his hands, while he opened his arms wide, "I'm sahprised ya' won't go after th' kid first." Scoffing, his head gestured for Dexter's direction. Meanwhile, the presence of the air around them shiftened not one bit, yet, its molecules moved a single inch for a moment. "I don' mean for th' bounty, I heard y'all Ferrothorns..." Then, his gaze was set upon Zayden's own eyes, "Don't need't, aye?" Contrary to what he showed, Gerhard had prepared his hands to issue a myriad of commands to the air around the both of them, it was much of a casual action, nothing alarming to the point that it could be easily be tracked. After all, Gerhard's attention hovered over Zayden still, his body language, his words. The marine had spoken of his power, something which prompted Gerhard to ready the air rather than anything else. Given how things were at that moment, he was ready to instantly act whatever was to be Zayden's turn, feet light over the ground and body loose. The dark sky grew darker. Clouds a large portion of the area above Zayden and Gerhard, even extended to the battlefront that Harlee and Dexter stood on. Light rain dropped from the clouds, nothing too hazardous, but enough to leave clothes damp. This had all been the work of Zayden's devil fruit ability, but how would have to be explained at a later time. With a grunt, Zayden laughed. "If I would've tried to take on the both of you at once, I probably would have died. That attack he hit me with managed to pierce through my haki. Take it, I activated it right as I was being slashed, but even that says something for that brats skill." Placing his hand on the on the right side of his chest, he gripped some of the blood and painted his hand in it. "Hardy should be able to keep him at bay until I finish you off." That same fist became coated in black, clear use of his Busoshoku Haki. Bringing that fist over his head, then into the ground, Zayden punched straight through the earth's surface. Behind that punch lie the strength of two giants and the collision alone shattered a large portion of the ground Gerhard and Zayden stood on. Crease and cracks formed in the ground as it split apart traveling from Zayden's initial location, all the way to where Gerhard stood. As he pulled his fist from the ground, large chunks of earth flew into the air, shielding the commodore from Gerhard's view. Dashing forward and bursting through the earth, Zayden a few times closing the distance between himself and his opponent, throwing his haki and lightning coated fist at the pirate. Amazing that a man at his size could move so swiftly while being able to maintain such tremendous strength. He'd truly have to thank Baboa for teaching him everything he knew. With his sixth sense, he'd keep an eye of his surroundings, but for now his punch landing on Gerhard--which had been aimed for his chest--was his primary focus. Rain covered his figure for a second, Gerhard narrowed his eyes and paid attention to Zayden's words, all of which quite a piece of information. But, then... Shooting his eyes wide open as ever when the ground beneath them started to crumble, Gerhard could only misaim with his left arm, whereas it was pointing in Zayden's direction, then it directed for the ground. Tidy Chaos had taken place once again, though, since the mass of air was much concentrated than it was back with Dexter, when it pushed itself offwards, Gerhard was thrown upward with more urgency. It was akin to the small burst of a propulsor. He recoiled his left hand a bit from the impact, rocks flailing through the environment, "Intendin' ta' attack me from somewhere else?" Though he pondered so, Gerhard smiled and had his right hand pointed in Zayden's previous direction. Most of the rocks were pummelled through too swiftly, "Brusque Order," The air that had been gathered beforehand vibrated in response to Gerhard's right hand, it went thicker and thicker, to the point that even a normal human could possibly touch it. Like a mirror barrier of sorts, it stood in front of Gerhard's figure, expansion not halting even as Zayden's punch collided against it. Though, that hadn't been Gerhard's intention. Expression widening, the punch barely met his stomach, halted mostly by the fierceness presented by the wall, which also provided an insulation from the lightning that should have went through, since it was made of air. Yet, it still had been a blow tainted in Buso, meaning that some of its impact still made its way through. Before he was launched, though, Gerhard, using the same hand that gathered the air, slapped it, "GRUFF CHAOS!" All that had been gathered and focused would instantly react to such an action, unlike Gerhard, the impact wouldn't make the wall be sent flying. Meanwhile, gerhard went through a building and another, grunting while still clutching some air with both his hands, he coughed whence he landed. Therefore, while the air was in close vicinity to Zayden, the wall would violently expand as if it was an explosion by itself, crashing against all that stood in its path. With the sudden interference, not only were myriads of water droplets blown away, but also the many rocks, whose ascension was stopped, shot away as if they were cannon balls. Before he could react to his landing punch, Zayden's body was swallowed by the explosion created by Gerhard's power, then by the multiple rocks that were shot at him like cannons. The largest rock of the group managed to send Zayden flying back down the path he'd travel to get where he was. His large mast shredded through the already ripped earth before he fell up against a nearby building which would act as a cushion and stop him from traveling any further. "Damn." He cursed, grunting and squint from the pain of all the impact he'd just taken. The explosion incited by Gerhard, up until he'd ended up colliding with the building. For him to even take damage so early on came as a shocker. Among the Ferrothorn Family, Zayden's body was the most unique in the vein of it being more durable than everyone else. It was what set him apart from his brothers and sisters, and he was rather prideful of that. It allowed him to give off a taste of intimidation on his opponents, forcing them to cower in fear of the man's appearance alone. Planting his hands into the rubble of the building, Zayden lifted himself up and spat to his side. The are of the ground that caught his large chunk of spit, would find itself soak in his saliva-blood mix. Turning his head to the left and right, Zayden cracked his neck then proceeded to doing the same with his fingers. "I heard that power of yours was weird from Captain Roselia's report, but that's completely off the wall, Master of Games." Stepping over the rubble, Zayden stood back on the battlefield, looking across the distance. Even though the two were somewhat far from each other, his voice was amplified enough so that Gerhard could hear him. The light rain began to pick up in downfall and the winds suddenly began to pick up more in speed. Zayden gave off a slight grin after covering his entire arms in busoshoku haki. "After I take you out, I'll kill that kid, Dexter. Then I'll move on to the rest of those Disasters, starting with Hurra Al Sayyid. Ninja's Gunpowder Sliding into the dust field, Dexter flipped Tenrairyu to his off hand and held his left hand next to his side. Snapping his fingers on his left hand, and holding his palm down towards the ground a silverish miniature disk spun, whipping up a slight gust. Placing his hand onto the ground, a slight silver-tinted dome covered a small portion of the field. "I ain't got this down pack, but it's much more like the Ope Ope no Mi than I thought. At least in this instance." He'd thought straightening his stance and staring at Harlee, removing his mask revealing a slight smile. "I don't like fightin' women," Dexter finally spoke to the woman for the first time. "It'll fuck up my career if I was known as a woman beata'... that ain't even to mention the fact I'm black. Awww man, the media would have a fuckin' blast." His normal stare turned into a glare, as he lowered his head and looked at the woman sinisterly. "But you, you'll be good for testing out my abilities with the Ope Ope no Mi." "Then don't treat me as a woman, pirate. Right now, I'm your opponent, and that's the only thing you should focus on." Harlee responded, gulping down some of her salivae, a sound which she could've sworn could be heard from miles away. She had to be careful around such a dangerous devil fruit, considering she was already in the strange-dome. She took that into consideration, making a mental note of it, as she prepared to make the first move. Harlee lowered her upper body, her hands curling into claws. She may have been only half mink, but that didn't stop her from having the same ferocity as any full-blood. Focusing Electro on all four of her limbs, specifically at the soles of her feet and hands, she exploded towards Dexter, her speed comparable to the art of . Once within reach, she swooped her right leg forward, aiming at Dexter's legs. Were her attack to connect or be dodged, Harlee would follow up with a powerful electro-imbued elbow strike to Dexter's gut. By simply lowering his sword slightly, Dexter met Harlee's own leg with an electrical sword of his own. Rather than dodge her second attack, Dexter instead stitched himself to Harlee's back by utilizing his Shadow Stitch technique--a high-speed movement technique that leaves a shadowy blur behind as the user maneuvers behind their opponent in theory "stitching to their shadow". Swiftly thrusting his blade forward all while switching to an underhanded grip, he struck at Harlee's back with the hilt of his sword rather than its edge. While it seemed like a rather harmless attack, had he hit Harlee with it, it'd most definitely deal enough damage to at least knock the girl down. But if he were lucky, he'd be able to take her wind and knock her out. Harlee watched as the man disappeared, leaving no more than a shadow as he counterattacked. The entire maneuver was too quick for Harlee's eyes or reflexes to follow, so instead, she relied on her instinct. Dexter's attack inched closer to her back and the attack made its mark, or so it would seem. Instead of being pushed down by the hilt of the sword, the back of the weapon went through Harlee. At the last second, Harlee's body turned into the element she controlled; gunpowder. The dark, strong-scented, particles taking place for the mink's flesh. Before Dexter could continue with another attack, Harlee pivoted on her left leg and brought her right knee, which, along with her entire right leg, had been enhanced with both electro and busoshoku haki, towards the youth's gut. This, however, was no more than a feint, expecting Dexter to block the attack with his sword, had it met with Harlee's knee, she would extend her leg at the last second, aiming a powerful kick at his right temple. If the attack proved to be accurate, Dexter would get off with at least some sizeable damage. Category:Role-Plays